a Poem by Katherine

[kitkatz]

My apologies to the theme writers of Gilligan's Island for this one!

Dialysis U

Just sit right back and you will hear a story,
A story of dialysis.
That started one November day
When I was really sick.

The nurse was just hired in.
The patient was brand new.
Six dialysis patients met that day
For a four hour treatment, this much they knew.

The treatment started getting rough
The blood pressure plunged.
If not for the fearless techs,
The patients would have lunged.

The patient got up out of the chair
With the Nurse, the techs, the others patients, too
The machines, the kidneys and all the rest
Here at Dialysis U.

[kitkatz]

How Are You Today?

What do you say
When everyone who know you says
How are you feeling today?
Do they really want to know
Or are they just being polite,
Because they know I
Have kidney failure?
Some days I wonder if they really know
What this is all about?
Should I enlighten them?
Or just let them live in their sheltered worlds?

They do not face the grim reaper
As their shadow on a daily basis.
They do not have “treatments
On Monday, Wednesdays and Friday to go to.
They do not have to rearrange their lives
to save their life every day.
They don’t have to deal with a painful arm
That has been stuck over 500 times already.
They don’t deal with diet restriction
At every single meal.
They don’t  have to think about every morsel
That goes into their mouths every day.
Normal people live lives
That are so different than mine.

Yes, I go to dialysis treatment every day.
It prolongs my life.
Yes I have to go.
No I cannot change the day
Just because you want to go out.
What is this I am eating?
It’s my one treat a day I get.
So back off buster!
Yes, I can eat this.
It’s alright.
The blood work last week was fine.
I am feeling fine.

My arm hurts.
My back hurts.
I am tired all of the time.
I am sick of getting stuck in the arm.
I am tired of being treated like I am three years old
By techs and nurses
Who have not done this
As long as I have.

I am on dialysis.
Ask me how I feel.

copyright Katherine Soto July 15, 2006

[angieskidney]

good poetry Keep writing

[Sluff]

Good Job Katz

[kitkatz]

The Dialysis Bus

Welcome Aboard the Dialysis Bus.
Please go to the back of the bus
and there you will find your chair,
your tech and the machine.
As your driver I will explain the sites
We will visit over the next four hours.
All aboard.
Here we go.

First stop is the weigh station.
Got to keep the weight in check on the bus.
Are you over?
Are you under?
Do you feel sluggish?
Between 2-3 kilos you should be.
Hey you there!
Over five kilos???
You fall in a lake or what?
All Aboard!

Blood pressure time stop
Is our second stop.
Too high?
Too low?
Just right?
Did you take your meds today?
Get ready to move on.
All aboard.

Needle stick station is the third stop.
Techs please attend to your needles.
Nurses to your catheter patients.
Everybody ready?
Let’s move on.
All aboard.

Sit back relax.
You will see a scenic view
Of places you might like to visit.
Potassium Lane is one
A lovely garden full of fruits and vegetables.
We don’t stop there.
We found our patients
Developed high levels of potassium
When we had a stop here.
Wheatiesville is next.
But we pass by there too
The phosphorous plant was giving
The bus problems.

Oh there goes Tito’s Tacos
MMMMMMM.
Have to go back there sometime soon.
The bus just flashes on by.

The four hour tour is getting tiresome.
Patients ask for meds.
Several fall asleep lightly
Not wanting to miss their stop.

There on the left is Sugar High.
The patients are excited
Are we going to stop?
No, the bus keep rolling.
Seems a lot of dialysis patients
Are also diabetics.
No sugar for anyone today.

If anyone brought snacks or drinks
Now is the time to eat them.
Go ahead. Enjoy.
You there with the banana,
Yeah you., throw it out.
The dietitian is rampaging aboard
Watch your treats.
Hide them quick.
She will throw them out.
She has left the bus
Knowledge left in her wake
Blood test results and diets reviewed.
She usually leaves in a stew.

Fall asleep our passengers.
The time will go faster.
Turn on the TVs.
Not so loud.
Use your ear phones.
Turn it down, way down.

We are now entering the end of the fourth hour.
All awake! 
Everyone ready to go.
Techs stand by for Gauze and Bandaid Station
Get your supplies.
Got to give the blood back. 
We will be in this station for awhile.
Patients may depart when ready.
Otherwise we will pull on into
Dialysis is Over Station.
See you in two days.

Thank you for riding
The Dialysis Bus.
Come again
We know you will
The only way off the bus
Permanently is transplant
Or the Grim Reaper.
And we know how you feel about him.

By Katherine Soto
Copyright July 23, 2006

[Bajanne]

That was great, Kitkatz!   You are making my poetry fingers start to tingle.  I just might  join the fray.

[kitkatz]

Come on in Bajanne
And join the fray!
The water is warm
We're here to play!!

I am a poet
But my feet don't show it
They are not
Longfellows!


Oh Boy!   
The night gets later
and the poetry
Get greater!

[kitkatz]

Another poem by me!

Lessons

Crawl under a rock
Sweep it under the rug
I want to run away and hide
Yet I cannot avoid my life.
If wishes were dishes
I would serve up a few to me.
I would wish for health first,
For I am dead tired
But not ready for the grave.
Hurts, aches, pains
Bother me here and there.
I find they bother me more
The older I get.
When I was younger
I was the boss of pain.
Now I am older
And have learned
The lessons pain taught.



Copyrighted October 27, 2010 by K. Soto

[okarol]

  It's cool to see you writing poetry again KK - even though it's inspired by difficult challenges.
Great poem!

[Jean]

All great writings KK. You could write a book by now, and publish all the lovely photos of your arm with it.

[Sluff]

Nice work.